Story Sparks
by Goldenkizamu
Summary: Thought provoking glimpses of paths not taken, voices not heard. Sparks of story hoping to be coaxed into flame. But I'm not going to write these stories, you are. Updated: Naruto/Avatar crossover idea/prologue
1. Brother in the Mirror

Brother in the Mirror

* * *

Say hello, my brother in the mirror  
don't you recognize?  
We've met before; in dreams  
we both were told were lies

I dreamed of you and you of me  
for years without knowing  
since we stopped, in our hearts  
the loneliness was growing.

They told me you'd forget me,  
and this is seems is true  
another hope forsaken  
how did they grow so few?

No wheels in your eyes,  
fake emotions on your tongue,  
no one'd think of twins  
who parted ways when young

One for the dark of the village,  
one for the family to keep,  
speaking and playing together  
only when we were sleep

A blood moon had risen  
and our dreams were the cost  
The secret games and laughter,  
a paradise that was lost.

Brother in the mirror  
whose walk has just begun  
I hope your heart is stronger  
or better if you have none

The Fox and the Flower  
break you, then make you heal.  
Be wary of the simple things  
the Fox will make you feel.

My own heart is broken  
by my mind's abuse,  
too many thoughts unspoken,  
and offers un-refused

Brother in the mirror  
today we finally met.  
you were sent to kill me  
but you're not ready yet

Little brother in my mirror  
when my vengeance is complete  
our other brother, Itachi,  
at last lies at my feet

Come with Fox and Flower,  
Fated-one, Bushy-brows, Here and There  
Shy White-Eyes, silent Forest, rude Hound,  
Boar, Butterfly, and troublesome Deer.

Break the mirror, my brother  
stop the wheel, end the pain.  
When our the dream is over  
and cannot dream again. 

* * *

When the plot bunny bites at work... You should be afraid. I wrote most of this while on a break, then tweaked it once I got home. Originally I thought it was going to be a monologue, but then the rhyming began and I couldn't turn it off. This happens sometimes. Sorry!

An old Uchiha legend that spoke of twins bringing calamity. Sasuke and Sai, separated at birth, who once shared the same dreams. Three bothers who shall kill each other one by one. Three broken reflections.

Fear the extreme one-shot-ness of it all! Or not, knowing me.


	2. Wisdom

_There is a prayer in our world, similar to one that exists in your world, but different. I shall repeat it hear, for clarity. _

_Dead Hokages grant me:  
the speed to flee the battles I should not fight,  
the skill to fight the battles I must,  
the wisdom to know the difference,  
and the courage to choose correctly. _

_But most of important,  
Dead Hokages please  
grant me the confidence to accept  
the consequences of that choice._

-----

Jiraiya settles himself at my desk again, his pen scribbling furiously across the pages of the notebook he carries everywhere and never lets outsiders see. I set a cup of Sake at his elbow and he grunts in recognition, his hands never pausing in the quest to record everything that had happened today.

"Well?" I ask after about twenty minutes of quiet scritching and sipped sake.

"He's not dead, but I still think we can do better." the silver-haired Sannin looks up long enough to see that I will survive my injuries from the fight we staged earlier.

"How many times have we thought that?" I ask in quiet desperation. He doesn't respond immediately, because it takes several minutes to review the attempts we have made, the failures and the partial successes that had led us to this place and time, this outcome that was passable but still terrible in so many ways.

"Eleven." Jiraiya says after a long moment. "We still have ten passes left, if we need them."

"What difference will they make? This time we prevented the Kyuubi from escaping Sasuke's control, but Konoha is still in ruins from the war with Sand; Itachi didn't kill all the children at the academy, but half of them died in the war. The Uchiha still slaughtered the Hyuuga, the Aburame executed the Uchiha, and the Inuzukas still defected to Grass. All the Hokages are dead, and we're no closer to finding a way home."

"We will find a way." he says with that same stubborn conviction.

"I had an idea while I was being healed." I begin with trepidation. My last bright idea had set this time loop into motion, after all. But he does not object, and I continue. "What if Sasuke _isn't_ chosen as the Jinchuuriki? So much hinges on that one fact, that changing it would change everything. The clans' infighting, Itachi's madness, the war with Suna. We need a Clanless Jinchuuriki, one that none can claim as their own."

"Where will we find a child like that? There aren't any children outside of the strong clans with enough chakra to properly contain the Kyuubi." Jiraiya points out, with reason.

"Uzumaki." I say, the spark of hope I felt when I noticed the boy earlier that day flaring up as I said the name again. "Naruto is only a little younger than Sasuke. If we can delay the Kyuubi's attack until October..."

"Uzumaki Naruto." Jiraiya repeats the name, a sudden change lighting his face. "The loudest and brashest genin in Konoha, so determined to win back his family's honor. He's the adopted son of one of the medics, isn't he?"

"Yes, he and Kabuto."

"That may change..."

I nod my agreement, "But chakra level is chakra level, and adopted or not, he is truly Clanless. We can make sure that no clan 'adopts' him, and things will be different."

"You're right. And if it really doesn't work, we can always try again." Jiraiya smiles at me. "I'm glad you made the suggestion, it's been a while.

"I'll make the preparations." I grin eagerly.

"Yes. With Uzumaki Naruto as Jinchuuriki perhaps Konoha will have a chance."

------------------------

Plot bunnies spawned at work are scary, scary things. I have this notepad that contains an increasing amount of incredibly random stuff. Thus it shall all be shoved into another 'story' which is another collection of mostly unrelated one-shots which I intend to _keep_ as One-shots! And anyone who can tell me who "I" is in this story gets a cookie, because I have not a clue!


	3. Exactly as Advertised

As Advertised.

* * *

You look, but you don't see. He says "There is someone I have sworn to kill" and dismisses dreams as just a word. All you do in think to yourself, in one way or another, 'as expected' and carry on. You don't ask any other questions. You accept, and he accepts what is expected once again. 

You don't ask what he will do once Itachi is dead. You don't ask how hard he's willing to train to reach that goal, his plans for reviving his clan, the jutsu he wants to create that will defeat his brother. You don't comment on his angsting or preening, the fixation on being the best, his need for praise and attention as glaring as Naruto's. You just accept that he is an genius avenger and leave it at that.

You don't see that he just wants you to say that he doesn't have to. More than anything, Sasuke wants the villagers to say "Enough death." He does not want to have to kill his only brother. He is afraid of his brother, afraid that he won't be strong enough to face him alone. And alone he will be when he faces Itachi, because we will step back and allow him the 'honor' of vengeance. We are too chicken-s--t to go after the kin-slayer ourselves, so we wait for a little boy to grow up and do it for us. We are such a strong family in Konoha that we make our children into the agents of our vengeance. Such hypocrisy.

We tell him that he will be that strong, heaping admiration and praise upon him, wondering at his talent while secretly hoping that his talent won't lead him down his brother's path. We praise the talent and disregard the training. The unending training early in the morning and long into the night, collapsing into a dreamless sleep to avoid the nightmares. Games that must be disguised as training, moments of peace forced down his throat or carefully hidden from villagers who disapprove. After all, the last Uchiha should not be seen to be too happy. That would be disrespectful towards the dead. Sweet rare smiles shine like candles in a long darkness.

What will be after the vengeance? And in the middle times? Will the shadow of that day stretch forever into a future made bleak and lifeless by expectation. Those are the questions we didn't ask. Now we can't. You were all shocked when he left. After all, you'd given him access to high level Jutsu, isn't that affection? You declared your undying love for his super-cool brooding persona while using him as a pawn in a contest with your best friend, which everyone knows is a great way to make a person feel special. And _his_ rival/best friend incidentally made the object of his vengeance ignore him as unimportant and weak. Being stuck in a coma for weeks while said rival travels, meets several important people, and learns a very powerful and exclusive Jutsu was just icing on the cake of love and happiness.

He pursued the vengeance expected of him. He sacrificed the present for the future. We said "You must be the avenger of your clan." until that became inconvenient, then said "Leave off this vengeance until your older." But until Itachi is dead, Sasuke will never be able to grow up to be who he wants to be. He will live forever in that shadow until he removes the one blocking his light. Even if he must die to do it, some part of him will die free, knowing that the ghosts of his family and the village's expectations will not haunt his next life.

So he seeks the power to do what is expected of him. Because that is all he has left to dream of. He is an ungrateful little punk with no sense of team-work or humility. He is an angsty goth with a lifetime of complexes and the mind of a papranoid genius trapped in a 12 year olds body. He is the cold-blooded Avenger with no time for human considerations. Exactly as Advertised.


	4. Sacrificial Goat

**Sacrifice**

* * *

Some are born to lead, some to follow. Greatness is the blood destiny of the Uchiha, but like all things it comes at a price. Some Uchiha are conceived and raised not to acheive their own greatness but to support those born with better fates.

Itachi was one such born with great promise, a powerful Shinobi he was certain to become. But his parents felt that they could, if they were strong, help him to achieve heights not seen since the founding of the Uchiha.

So the had a second son who was bred to help his brother gain the heights they desired for him. They called their younger son Sasuke, but did not allow themselves to become attached. He was born to support his brother, and his loyalty should lie with Itachi primarily.

The younger son was raised to be eaten. He was the intended sacrifice that would have awakened a special version of the Mangekyo Sharingan had Itachi killed him as planned. In the Uchiha there have been two types of Mangekyo, one which bends the spirit and the mind and the other which bends space and the body. Itachi's parents hoped to awaken a Mangekyo that could do both in their elder son.

Some members of the clan objected to this plan, but they were silenced by the will of the clan.

When Itachi learned of the plan the clan was silenced and only the sacrifice remained.

So the cruel reality is that Itachi saved Sasuke's life.

Crueler reality is that Sasuke knows all this. He read about it in the temple.

Yet the most cruel reality is what Itachi said, "Grow stronger in your hatred, little brother. I could not kill you, but if you grow strong enough, and hate me enough, _I_ will become _your_ sacrifice."

Sasuke works to become worthy.

* * *

Author notes:

Of all the Naruto fiction I've written, this idea disturbs me the most. I couldn't get it out of my head so I wrote it down so it can haunt your heads! Wahaha! I don't really think this is true, but it _could_ be.

As a further note about the Story Sparks in general: If you find an idea here that you like by all means run with it. I would appreciate some credit as an inspiration and a link to anything you may come up with, but that's all. These are ideas I don't have the time or inclination to develop fully. As you may have noticed, I can sketch a scenario pretty well, but filling it in takes a lot longer than it should. In other news, Updates will continue to be rather slow. Sorry.


	5. Cloud White Eyes

White Eyes of Cloud 

--------------------

"Do not be troubled, Hyuuga-san. I am not here for you, I wish to speak with Uzumaki-san, Haruno-san and Uchiha-san."

"But-" the Hyuuga heir stepped closer to the Cloud ninja, using his Byukugan to see past the blind- fold. She looked back, her pupil-less eyes boring into his through the fabric. She did not seem disturbed by his scrutiny or his persistence, merely waiting for him to leave the clearing.

"I have no business with you at this time. Please take your team-mate and leave."

"You're a-"

Again she cut him off. "My name is Hina Nii."

"Let's go, Neji." Tenten urged, obviously worried.

Neji didn't reply, but helped his team-mate carry the injured Taijutsu specialist away, watching the strange foreign ninja as he went.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Thank you for helping us drive off those strange Rain-nin... But why do you want to talk to us?"

"And why now?" Sasuke added quickly, "You could have talked to us before the written test, _Hinata-chan._ But you waited until after you had a chance to save us, so we'd trust you more."

"I should have let him bite you?" the foreigner had the cheek to sound amused.

"She did save you from that weird guy. He tried to bite you on the neck. it was probably some weird Jutsu." Sakura pointed out.

"Sorry. Thank you, Hinata-chan." again he used the incorrect name with emphasis, his gaze meeting the invisible yet still tangible attention of the blinded girl.

Naruto looked confused, "Why are you calling her Hinata? She just said her name was Hina."

"Because she used to be my cousin, Hinata Hyuuga. She was kidnapped years ago, when the old Hyuuga head of house was killed. Everyone said they'd killed her while trying to remove her eyes; there was even a body buried in the grave field." Sasuke explained. " Must not have been the real thing. There was nearly a war with Cloud over it, but Cloud turned over the culprits to the new head of the Hyuuga house for execution."

"Why do you think that, Sasuke-san?" Hina seemed pleased.

"We used to play together while our mothers had tea." the Uchiha's tone took an atypical nostalgic air. "We drew pictures in the dirt. But mostly it's that scar on your left hand. I gave it to you with the kunai you got during festival."

Hinata-Hina examined her hand, running her fingers over the thin white v-shaped scar, then nodded silently.

"Wow, you actually played games when you were little?" Naruto said, grinning at the instant glare that provoked in his Uchiha team-mate.

"That doesn't answer why you want to talk to us." Sakura pointed out, taking it upon herself to be suspicious in Sasuke's stead. "You're obviously a Cloud Ninja now, and you've got no reason to help us."

"My sister would like you, you're very sharp." Hina said, then looked directly at Naruto, "I'm here to ask for your help. You see, Uzumaki-san and my Jounin-sensei have a lot in common, which makes them both targets for a certain outlaw group. Uchiha-san can claim an interest in opposing the group in question for other reasons. And of course as their team-mate, Haruno-san must be involved in any negotiation and alliance between our teams."

Team seven greeted this statement with varied, but equally loud responses:

"Target?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Outlaws?" Sasuke emphasized the plural.

"Alliance?" Sakura pounced on the word.

Hina smiled, "Sensei said that would get your attention."

-----------------------------------------

Not beta'd, not edited, pounded out in about half an hour, subjected to perfunctory spell-check, not grammar checked, not content checked, subject to change without notice.

This is the Alternate reality that has been nagging on the back of my brain for a while now. Hopefully it will leave me in peace. Name the initial changed event and as many details of the developments and the setting of the above scene as you can. Win a cookie!


	6. Bending Fire and Lightning

**Bender of Fire and Lightning**

"Our world has long existed in parallel with others, unseen just beyond the veil of space-time. Like both our closest neighbors, we had an avatar that controlled the four elements and sought balance with the spirit world. 100 years ago our Avatar went insane: though he killed a great many people himself before he was slain, his biggest crime was the release and maddening of the Nine Great Tailed Spirits. The tailed ones ran rampant for years before the technique for sealing them in human vessels was learned and used to control the beasts. The tailed spirits became the weapons of the great Ninja villages, causing much heartbreak and strife that continues to this day.

"Meanwhile, the spirit of the Avatar continued to exist, though not as he had been. Slain while in transition to his deadly Avatar form, the last Avatar's spirit did not re-enter the stream of reincarnation as it normally would but instead split into many parts, each representing one of his many incarnations. The parts scattered, attaching themselves to various members of the group that killed the maddened one. Those fragments still exist, jumping from host to host like passive ghosts sharing a person's shell. A few times a great number have managed to attach themselves to a single person, increasing that person's luck, insight and abilities in various ways, perhaps by direct communication similar to the old Avatar's ability to call on his past lives' experiences. However, those hosts inevitably attract the attention of the tailed beasts and usually die messily shortly thereafter. (The fourth Hokage of Konoha is a notable example)

"Now, a group of madmen and criminals plots to collect all of the Tailed Beast Spirits into a single place and use their power to control the world; already many of the Hosts have been slain and their spirits extracted. An evil Genius (formerly a member of the first group) has achieved a limited form of immortality by mimicking the soul-transfer process the Avatar spirits use to survive, though for most sinister purposes. The carrier of the Maddened Avatar's spirit fragment has already slain all but one member of his clan and joined the group of criminals bent on world domination.

"An old power has been rediscovered and perfected, allowing travel to and from the dimension beyond the spirit world, where a young but sane Avatar lives. To redeem myself and save the best friend I abandoned years ago, I prepare to embark on a new quest in a completely unknown land, seeking the Avatar..."

_-from the journals of Sasuke Uchiha, Bender of Fire and Lightning _

_

* * *

  
_

Prologue to Yet another fic I will probably never write! I don't know the _Avatar _storyline well enough to tell it, but the idea of Sasuke and Zuko teaming up to look for the avatar (for very different purposes) caught my imagination. (We'll show him to your father, then I'll take him to my world. Its mutually beneficial.) In my head Sasuke leaves for the Avatar world after his fight with Deidara, leaving team Hebi to deliver a letter to Naruto and Sakura, and to help with the search for the various peices of the naruto-verse's Avatar spirit... but anyway... If you adopt this story spark, please please please tell me, I'd love to read it!


End file.
